Tonight, the 2024 NHL Draft gets underway in Las Vegas and while it's been established that the Boston Bruins should avoid drafting a goaltender at all costs, but there are two other positions that they could very well draft a player to: defensemen and forwards. This is about the latter.
While the Bruins have had some success with drafting forwards in the past in players like John Beecher, they have also had their not so successful picks as well - at least so far - in Oskar Steen.
Forwards are really a hit or miss business in hockey, so with the volatility in the market, Boston should be cautious when drafting a forward.
Why should the Bruins be cautious about drafting a forward?
The first reason the Bruins should be cautious about drafting a forward is, for one thing, like the goalie position, they have depth already throughout the system. The difference between the goalie and the forward position, is there is a clear line that you can draw when a goalie is past his prime, and when a forward is.
With netminders, you can visibly see when their decline is hitting them. They will let in more goals, they are not as fluid with their movement side to side, and they're straight up not as flexible.
Yes, with forwards you can see when they are on the decline as they will start to lose speed and maybe not score as many goals, but it's not as visually apparent. The thing about the draft too is that a forward can be drafted almost anywhere and teams can feel okay about them.
For instance, Boston has multiple first round picks that are playing the NCAA, but they also have some later round picks that are also playing in college hockey.
Drafting a forward is not exactly an exact science, so the Bruins should tread lightly when looking the forward class this year.